Solar panels raise preservation issues

SAN CLEMENTE -- Jim Bodas is 63 and he's standing on the cusp of a new phenomenon.

Preserving historic buildings has been a top priority for several Orange County cities, such as San Clemente and Orange, but as boosting sustainable practices slides into the mainstream, tension between protecting the past and saving the future has grown.

Bodas and his wife Ellen opened an eco-friendly store featuring recycled artwork called Casa Verde on Saturday in San Clemente. It's the first historic building in Orange County to use solar panels on the roof, several historical experts said.

"Instead of starting just any business, I wanted to build an environment that was, well, environmentally friendly," Bodas said, noting that while growing up in the 1960s, caring for the Earth was part of his lifestyle. "We need to learn to be better citizens of this earth."

But it's not so easy to slap solar panels on historic buildings. Strict standards prevent owners from tinkering with the properties' exteriors. That means nothing out-of-character – such as bulky, silver solar panels on a 1938 building with a terracotta tiled roof – can be attached to a structure in a way that's visible from the street. In exchange, owners get property-tax reductions.

At the same time, Californians have the right to solar energy systems, under a 1978 law. The Solar Rights Act prevents public entities from blocking building owners from installing solar panels. Decade's ago, homeowner's associations were solar energy's main obstacle. Preservation standards seem to be a new one.

Solar boost

A couple years ago, the National Park Service, which is in charge of historical preservation efforts across the country, started seeing a high demand for solar panels, wind turbines and other sustainable additions for historic properties, said Michael Auer, a National Park Service historian.

"It's not what they're doing, but how they're doing it," Auer said. "If a historic building has turrets and gables you can't just slap solar panels on the roof."

In August, the Department of the Interior, which is in charge of the National Park Service, put out an advisory notice describing that solar panels can only be placed on historic buildings if they are "minimally visible" and do not "alter the historic character."

Bodas has positioned his panels on wooden racks hidden below a flat part of the roof. The panels don't actually touch the historic property. For some historic buildings, it might be impossible to use solar panels and meet standards. Often when new technology becomes popular, the department sends notices to guide local historic preservation experts, Auer said, comparing solar panels to satellite dishes about 20 years ago.

Green building, green store, green products

For Bodas, getting solar panels was at the top of his to-do list. His Spanish revival building at 130 Avenida Granada is one of dozens designed by Ole Hanson, a 1920s real estate developer responsible for turning San Clemente into the "Spanish Village by the Sea."

"The building is more historic now (because of the solar panels) than it was 20 years ago," he said.

Casa Verde offers only green products, such as vintage mirrors decorated with sea shells, chairs made of discarded wood and clothes created with recycled materials. It looks more like a collector's home than a retail shop.

In addition to the arts and crafts, the backyard, which was covered in sand five months ago, now has a garden filled with broccoli, lettuce and fruit trees. Bodas doesn't plan to sell the food, but he will be teaching gardening classes. In January, the store will run a workshop demonstrating how to use worms to turn food waste into soil conditioner.

Stacy Browning of Coastal General Contractors, who was in charge of the project, said it was easy to get approval from the city for the solar panels. She just had to fill out a few forms and explain how the solar panels would be hidden from view. San Clemente is working on a plan to slash 15 percent of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 because of a 2006 state law.To fulfill this goal, the city has been pushing sustainable practices and trying to attract more green businesses. Only two other businesses in the city use solar panels.

Casa Verde's solar panels, which cost about $15,000, will bring Bodas' electricity bill down to almost nothing, said Don Reese of Living Green, a San Clemente solar panel retailer. The Bodas' can also get state and federal tax rebates as well a business tax writeoff, he said.

Reevaluating the rules

Neil Lurie, spokesman for the non-profit American Solar Energy Society, said he expects a re-evaluation of the preservation rules established in 1977. He predicted that more historic building owners will want to set up solar panels as energy alternatives increase in popularity.

In Anaheim, there has been a "tremendous amount of debate" surrounding solar panels and historic buildings, said Cynthia Ward, preservation chair of the city's historical society. She believes that Anaheim will begin to see more requests for solar panels on historic properties soon. Philip Chinn, preservation expert at the Orange County Historical Society, said he believes that might become easier to get solar panels approved at the city level because of staff layoffs. With fewer experts on board, enforcement of some restrictions could slip through the cracks, he said, noting that cities are likely to be more lenient about the rules than federal regulators.

Other energy alternatives include mounting solar technology to a nearby fence or pole, Lurie said. The Interior Department's notice said that these are viable options as long as they are hidden.

"Solar panels do nothing but good to enhance historic buildings," Bodas said. "And isn't it great that at 63 I get to show that to people and be at the center of it all?"